ISLAMABAD: The new government on Monday decided to carry forward the observations of the PTI government and announced to import 200,000 tonnes of urea as buffer stocks before peak kharif demand in June.
The fertiliser review committee meeting, chaired by Federal Minister for Industries and Production Makhdoom Syed Murtaza Mahmud, decided that the summary of urea import would be forwarded to the Economic Coordination Committee.
The country has an adequate supply of urea, the meeting was informed. Domestic production and demand for fertilisers for the kharif season were discussed at the meeting.
The participants were briefed that projected domestic production of urea would be 3.2 million tonnes from April to September 2022, whereas the probability of urea offtake would remain at 3.4m tonnes in the same period.
The forum was also told that there would be a two per cent increase in agronomic demand for fertilisers this year. It was noted that urea sales went up by 17pc last year.
In order to curb the hoarding and profiteering that leads to the smuggling of urea across the border due to the high price differential, the body decided to take strict measures in cooperation with the law enforcement agencies, the Federal Board of Revenue, and the Ministry of Interior to thwart cross-border trafficking of urea.
Mr Mahmud said that the government had geared up to ensure smooth, adequate and timely supply of key soil nutrients to farmers during the kharif season and that decisions would be taken accordingly.
The meeting observed that there was a recent price hike of urea from Rs1,768 per bag to Rs1,933 per bag, but officials of the fertiliser industry responded that prices were increased due to the financial cost of holding inventory and pending payment of subsidies and refunds from the government exchequer.
SOURCE: Dawn
